Effect of Benzyladenine and Boron on Development of Dragon Fruit (Hylocereus costaricensis (Web.) Britton and Rose)

Dragon fruit (Hylocereus sp.) is a perennial vine belonging to cactaceae family with fruits having unique appearance and night blooming flowers having sweet fragrance. Hylocereus costaricensis is a purple red fleshed dragon fruit species which is widely known for its vibrant flesh color, refreshing taste and high nutritive value even though the fruit size is comparatively smaller than the other dragon fruit species. There are several effects of plant growth regulators and micronutrients on physical and chemical properties of fruit but the research regarding their effect on dragon fruit growth and development is limited. The present investigation was planned to know the effect of benzyladeninee and boron on physical and chemical properties of dragon fruit (Hylocereus costaricensis (Web.) Britton and Rose) under Lucknow sub-tropical climatic condition. There were 9 treatments (T1 -Control, T2 -BA@150 ppm, T3 -BA @200 ppm, T4 -Boron @100 ppm, T5 -Boron @150 ppm, T6 -BA @150 ppm + Boron @100 ppm, T7 -BA @ 150 ppm+ Boron @ 150 ppm, T8 -BA @ 200 ppm +Boron @ 100 ppm, T9 -BA @ 200 ppm + Boron @ 150 ppm) with three replications laid out following Randomized Block Design. There were 4 plants per pole and poles were planted at 4m × 2m spacing. Findings of the present investigation revealed that both BA and Boron had positive effect on physical and chemical properties of dragon fruit. Boron @ 150 ppm improved the physical quality parameters of dragon fruit followed by combined application of benzyladenine @ 200 ppm + boron @ 150 ppm which improved the chemical qualities of red fleshed dragon fruit.